Howe Edmund
Dr. Howe is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Director, Programs in Medical Ethics, and Senior Scientist, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010 May;7(5):19-26.
Psychiatrists face many difficult ethical decisions in which they must exercise their discretion. In the most difficult decisions they confront, there are significant "harms," regardless of what they choose. The best they can do in these instance is to be as acutely aware of the most important pros and cons as they can. This article will discuss such pros and cons in regard to, particularly, informing patients when they may be dangerous to themselves or others, have dementia, and have genetic illness. This article will also discuss giving moral weight to the psychiatrist's own interests when making these ethical decisions.
精神科医生面临许多艰难的伦理决策,在这些决策中他们必须行使自己的判断力。在他们所面临的最艰难的决策中,无论他们做出何种选择,都会存在重大的“危害”。在这些情况下,他们所能做的最好的事情就是尽可能敏锐地意识到最重要的利弊。本文将特别讨论在告知患者他们可能对自己或他人有危险、患有痴呆症以及患有遗传疾病时的利弊。本文还将讨论在做出这些伦理决策时给予精神科医生自身利益的道德考量。